God Pause for Sunday

From Luther Seminary:
Saying thank you was probably one of the first things your parents ever taught you. A relative handed you a piece of candy or gave you a compliment and your parents were on top of you: "And what do you say?"

Most of us reached our pinnacle of thankfulness when we were four, which is why I will be your parent today.

When someone lets you squeeze into congested traffic, what do you say?

When you have to pay your taxes, what do you say?

When you realize that God created you, brought you into being and gives you every breath you take, what do you say?

When you walk, see, cry, laugh and love, what do you say?

When you look around the table at the loved ones gathered, what do you say?

When you realize that the God of all creation cares about you and died on a cross for you,
what do you say?

Dear God, thank you. Amen.

Peter Geisendorfer-Lindgren

Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Maple Grove, Minn.

Master of Divinity, 1983


Psalm 26 (NRSV)

1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.
4 I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
5 I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O Lord,
7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8 O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.
9 Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
10 those in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

Today I am thankful for............my Lord, God, powerful and holy One and the prayers that keep me close to him.